Polar Bear Cub Thriving at 7 1/2 Weeks

January 26, 2010 -Crystal, The Toledo Zoo’s female polar bear, and her 7½ -week-old cub continue to do well in their Arctic Encounter® den. The Zoo is currently monitoring their progress via video monitors, and footage of them interacting as the cub is three days old and one month old is available on the Zoo’s polar bear page: http://www.toledozoo.org/animals/polarbearcub2.html. Toledo Zoo officials believe that this was the only polar bear born in a United States zoo in 2009.

The Toledo Zoo will be providing periodic updates of the cub’s progress on this dedicated polar bear page. Visitors to the Zoo’s website will be able to see baby pictures and video as well as read updates on the cub, culminating in the cub’s debut in the Arctic Encounter® later this spring. Along the way, people can learn about the importance of this cub in raising awareness of the challenges polar bears in the wild face as their Arctic habitat is lost to climate change.

Polar bear mothers raise their cubs in the seclusion of their dens. While they are denned up, they do not eat or drink, using the fat stored on their bodies to live on while they care for and nurse their cubs. Because of this, animal care staff has not been able to directly examine the cub. The video feed, though, indicates that the cub appears to be thriving under Crystal’s care. Once mother and baby are ready to emerge from their den, animal care staff members will be able to determine the sex and general well-being of the cub.